Govt to make fertilisers, seeds avaialable

Tribhuvannagar, Dang, Nov. 12 (RSS): Minister of State for Agriculture and Cooperatives Baldev Sharma Majgaiya has said that the government is seriously considering ways to make fertilisers and improved seeds easily available to the farmers at reasonable prices.

At a press conference hosted by Dang district committee of Nepal Press Union here today, he said that for various reasons, the prices of goods purchased by the farmers have increased and those sold by them decreased.

Mr Majgaiya, who is also a central member and head of the organisation department of the Nepali Congress, said that the question of generation is irrelevant from political view point and said that given the present circumstances nc president and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala should once again become the party president.

Prime Minister Koirala is seriously working to resolve the Maoists' problem, he added.

Can 10% service-charge check hotels' fake billing?

BY NAVIN SINGH KHADKA

Kathmandu, Nov. 12: In the ongoing close combat between the two rivals, hotel-employees have against hoteliers what could be devastating ammunition: Forgery in hotel bills and accounts.

To prove their point home, the 10 per cent service charge demanding hotel workers have gone to the extent of accusing hoteliers of tax-evasion. "Since most of the hoteliers have been maintaining fake bills, once the 10 per cent service charge is implemented, they will have to maintain transparency," said Bishnu Lamsal, Member Secretary of the United Central Struggle Committee of two hotel workers' unions.

In a clear-cut language, hotel-workers have charged hoteliers of dismissing the idea of the 10 per cent service charge in a bid to cover up their hanky-panky while maintaining records and accounts. "Their ultimate idea is to evade the revenue that they have been doing all these years," read a joint press-statement of Nepal Free Hotel Workers' Union and Nepal Tourism and Hotel Workers' Association issued today.

The hotel-union leaders even "elaborated" how the fake bills are made. At a press meet here today, they cited an example of Hotel Everest that had recorded loss in the mid-90's. "That was the reason why the hotel was denied loan by the government," said Lamsal. "But, the hotel at last succeeded to get the loan."

How? "It made a fake account of having earned profit," claimed Lamsal. "That explains how hoteliers prepare fake bills."

Hotel Everest officials, however, denied any such activity. "There is no truth at all in what they say," said Raju Bikram Shah, Resident Manager of the hotel.

In yet another example, the union leaders presented at the press-meet a bill of Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza. The bill -- named Flight Catering, numbered 003819 and dated November 2, 2000 -- has one of its details mentioning 10 per cent service charges amounting to 1149.87 US Dollars.

"This shows that they have been showing the 10 per cent service charge in the bill while they have not been paying the same amount to the workers," said Lamsal.

Ribhu Chatterji, General Manager of the Soaltee Crowne Plaza, defended that the service charge mentioned in the bill stands for miscellaneous charges. "It must be the charge of arranging things like pillows in the aircraft," he explained. "Our accounting system is all clear. Our records are all transparent."

Whatever the truth be, the point hotel workers have been trying to make here is something different, though. They claim that the 10 per cent service charge they have been demanding can check all the irregularities in the hotels' accountings. "This will lead to increase in the revenue by more than two times."

So much so, even a high-level task force formed two years ago had suggested that the service charge could contribute to make the tax system transparent.

But, how? The leaders reason that the employees will be more alert watch-dogs to the hotels' accounts since they would be receiving the 10 per cent of the total income from the clients as tips. "From peon to the general manager, everyone will be concerned about the transaction's transparency."

They may naturally be. But, why should only then the accounts be straight if they are not now? If the 10 per cent service charge, as claimed by the hotel workers, can keep the hoteliers from preparing fake bills and accounts, so can the already existing taxes including the 10 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) and the two per cent Tourist Service Charge. These are the two taxes hoteliers have already been collecting from their clients.

When it introduced the VAT some two years ago amidst avalanche of criticism, the officialdom had advocated for the tax system as the right mechanism to maintain transparency. If that could not work, as claimed by the hotel employees, why should the 10 per cent service-charge?

This is not to say that the idea of 10 per cent service charge is absurd. Nor is it to conclude that it is essential. But, what is questionable is its projected role as that of a hawk. If, once again as claimed by the union leaders, the hoteliers can manipulate the VAT mechanism in their favour, why can they not resort to the same tactic in case the 10 per cent service charge is implemented?

That way all they will have to do is pay their "yes man" some extra bucks in a bid to prepare the bill or the accounts they want to.

The bottom line: If fake bills and accounts do really exist in hotels, what is needed is a serious and geared-up mechanism of checking and counter-checking -- so that the national coffer receives its due revenue.

Only banking on the 10 per cent service charge is not going to help.

Improve system of governance to save democracy, says Deuba

Kathmandu, Nov. 12 (RSS): Former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said it is only democracy that can guarantee fundamental and human rights.

Mr Deuba, speaking at a colloquium on "politics and human rights" organized by the Human Rights and Peace Society here yesterday, observed that the present Constitution has guaranteed human rights, but the system of governance should be improved for its preservation.

Stating that though death penalty has already been abolished, the incidence of murder, violence and abduction are increasing which is an undemocratic act, the former Prime Minister remarked that as peace can be achieved only through talks, human rights activists should take initiatives for bringing the Maoists to the negotiating table to stop violence.

CPN-UML leader and MP KP Sharma Oli said human rights is violated when one tries to impose his or her ambitions on others.

General Secretary of Amnesty International Pierre Sane said politics and human rights are the two sides of a coin, adding political system should be democratic to stop violations of such rights.

Noting that the Maoists have no right in any way to kill the innocent people, Mr. Sane made it clear that the government has no right either to suppress the movement illegally.

Such movements are taking place all over the world by those who do not agree with governments, he said adding, rebels should also observe international conventions.

Chairman of the society Krishna Pahadi, from the chair, spoke of the need of good governance for stability of democracy and human rights in the country.

Vice chairman of the Society and senior journalist Purushottam Dahal expressed the view that though we have democracy, we have yet to evolve a democratic culture, adding that it is because of distortions and anomalies created by bigger political parties that violence has increased in the country.